Apparatus for opening and cleaning flax straw and such like fibrous materials



Aug. 24, 1937. H. WILKINSON ET AL 2,090,925

APPARATUS FOR OPENING AND CLEANING FLAX STRAW AND SUCH LIKE FIBROUS MATERIALS Filed Nov. 17, 1936 s Sheets-Sheet 1 1 /LZ INVENTORS: M

/ 1 HENRYWILKINSON a Norman PILKINGTON HT'ro nNEy Aug. 24, 1937. H. WILKINSON El AL 2,090,925

APPARATUS FOR OPENING AND CLEANING FLAX STRAW AND SUCH LIKE FIBROUS MATERIALS Filed Nov. 17, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 mvem-om:

Hams WILKINSON Nonmnu PrLmNaTou ,1937. H. WlLKl ON HAL I 2,090,925

APPARATUS FOR D CLEANING FLAX OPE G AN STRAW AND SUCH LIKE FIBRO MATERIALS ,Filed Nov. l7, 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 3' INVENTORS: HEN R W KINSON RMHN PILKINGTON 1T1 am 6 7m HTTORNEJ/ Patented Aug. 24, 1937 g l UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE 1 APPARATUS FOR OPENING AND CLEANING FLAX STRAW AND SUCH LIKE FIBROUS MATERIALS Henry Wilkinson. and Norman Pilking ton, Oldham, England; assignors of one-third to- Platt Brothers and Company Limited, Oldham, England Application-November 17, 1936, Serial No. 111,256 In Great BritainNovember 25, 1935 7 Claims.

' brous constituent and forgetting rid of the'nonusable wood and skin or unwanted detached particles commonly styled shive.

The invention concerns an apparatusto whichthe flax straw or the like (if necessarypreviously treated) can be fed or delivered mechanically or otherwise, and which has some features in common with the well-known Crighton or-vertical opener used in the cotton trade.

The proposed apparatus differs from a Crighton opener in a number of respects, as for example, in that the beater and surrounding-grids or cage are not located in a closed outer casing, but in a. casing which can breathe inorderto allow the shive (which is comparatively light,

trash carried in cotton) to be carriedthrough the open work cage and deposited'in the-casing capable of breathing by the action of a generated air current. In order to assist in opening and cleaning the fiax straw, and to generate the air current, a revolving propeller or impeller isle.-

[ cated at or near the bottom of the beater; and; such impeller operates in a fluted dish or annularcurrent andalso to permit the flax straw massor the like to be delivered thereinto.

The surrounding grids or cage to the revolving 40 beater are not like the Crighton grids, but are so fashioned or of a character to suit the service, and different kinds of simple reticulated grids may be used, the same constituting an openwork cage-surrounding the revolving beater, the 45 upper rotating elements of the latter drawing in air and opened material from the top ofthe cage.

The outer casing surrounds the cage, the beater and the impeller, and is of such size or dimen- 50 sions as to produce an ample compartment to receive the trashand such casing is not, air tight or closedbuthas-pervious areas. From the top ofthe apparatus there may be an air trunk or tube or receiving outlet which can be coupled 55 toacage structureor any equivalent receiving,

as contrasted with the weight of'impuritiesand;

acting partly as a fan to-discharge the delivery or conveying apparatus, and whichmay. I

combine one or more pervious cage contrivancesin a housing with stripping, damping or other provision, and by which the cleaned, openedand collected fibrous material can be delivered into. any receptacle or other apparatus or to means to. carry or otherwise transport the deliveredfibre to theplace desired. Similar or suitable means may be providedfor feeding the fibrous materialv to the apparatus.

vious' casingcapable of breathing andan impeller located in av roughenedtroughbelowa revolving beaterwith an open-work cage, said impeller drawing the flax straw into the trough device and generating a powerfulair current andassisting to open the flax straw and loosenthefshive? which shive is thrown out into the. pervious,

casing by thegenerated air current passingoutwardsthrough thelower part; Qf the open-work.

cage 'whilst the revolving beater acts onand lifts the opened fibrous material, the'upper, revolving elements of said revolving beater also drawing air inwards fromthe enclosing pervious easing into the upper part. of. the open-work cage whichair inducesandlassists to carry. the open fibrefrom the top of the open-work. cage into the conveying tube or outlet, ready tov be removed.

An apparatus for the purposes described and embodying the foregoing features will now be. described and explained with reference to the ac-. companying drawings, wherein Fig. 1- shows a sectional elevation of the clean-.-

ing. and opening apparatus forthe fibrous material, stated.

Fig. 2 is an'outside elevation.

Fig. 2a shows a detail sectional view of one of the pervious panels.

Fig. 3 is an outside elevation of the apparatus showing a suitable mechanical feed and mechanicaldelivery arrangement combined therewith.

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view on the line 4-4,

Fig. 1, showing the roughened trough and im-,- peller.

Fig. 5 shows a separate and enlarged view of the impeller. l

Fig. 5a. iska side view of the impeller.

Fig. 6 is a sectional plan on the line 6-6, Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a separate broken view of the rough ened trough,. and,

Fig. 8 is a, broken sectional view of the roughened trough.

Fig. 9 shows an enlarged view of suitable grid structures constituting the surrounding wall of the open-work cage.

Fig. 9a is a detail section of inclined bars of the grid shown in Fig. 9 and elsewhere.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged and broken view of the driven upright shaft, the beater and the striker arms.

There is used a housing compartment or cas ing a. This has movable or removable walls or panels 0, the panels being of a pervious nature, as for example canvas or openwork fabric panels can be used mounted in frame-work supports, the frame-work supports being secured by hinged catches (1. There is a fluted dish or annular trough hereafter referred to as a roughened trough b and this is shown as having ribs marked b see Figs. 1, 4, 7 and 8, such roughenedtrough I) having an inlet or feed slot 17 This roughened trough b is stationary and is supported a short distance from the floor of the casing a and air can obtain admission to the interior thereof through the open base. Within the roughened trough b is disposed an impeller (shown as consisting of inclined blades 0 fixed to inclined ribs c cast on the boss 0 the same being fixed to a rotatable shaft 0 the lower end of which is supported in a step bearing 0 This rotatable shaft 0 can be driven through a pulley c and also supports a revolvable beater d preferably of an inverted conical type the spaced discs of which are shown as carrying strikers d variously inclined or arranged. The vertical shaft 0 is driven at a high speed so that the impeller c and revolvable beater d are rotated at a high speed. The impeller 0 draws the flax straw or the like, and also air along the feed pipe e, via "the feed slot 17 into the roughened trough b', the impeller opening the flax straw by the action of the blades against the flutesor ribs b ofthe roughened trough b, throwing the opened fibre andthe shive upwards into the surrounding open-work cage g where the. beater d, operates.

The fibre is there further acted upon the bulk of the air induced by the impeller .is discharged outwards through the grids in the lower part of the open-work cage g which surrounds the beat:

er d, the air discharged therethrough carrying.

the shive (unwanted material) along with it so that same can be deposited in the casing a..

The cleaning and separation is effected by centrifugal and beating action in the presenceof a plentiful supply of circulating air. The comparatively light waste is thrown out and deposited in the casing a, as, duerto .the pervious panels a air can readily circulate and pass through the surrounding open-work cage structure marked as a whole 9 outwards and inwards, because the surrounding casing a is not sealedor closed as is a Crighton opener. Therefore air is freely circulated through the surrounding open-work cage g, because the casing a. can breathe and so the opening apparatus can function effectively to permit the throwing out and deposit of the shive within the casing a with pervious panels 0). F

The revolving beater d is so constructed an provided with strikers and the whole arrangement is such that it has a tendency to ensure an effective opening as also a fan or lifting action, and its upper revolving elements by exercising a fanlike action draw air through the upper part of the open-work cage g which air assists the forwarding of the cleaned and opened material to the outlet as at f.

The grid structure of the cage 9 may consist set of frames g spaced steel bars of narrow blade-like cross-section 9 may be mounted and these are inclined to the vertical producing upright gaps whilst the other alternate frames 9 may be fitted with woven wire grids 9 presenting rectangular or other apertures, the drawings showing square apertures. Through these gaps and apertures the shive is carried by the circulating air current generated by the impeller c and assisted by the beater d and this shive settles in the casing a and can be emptied out for example by opening the pervious frames or doors The Fig. 3 illustrates, by way of example only, an approved feed and delivery arrangement for use with the opening apparatus described. In this, the fibrous material to be treated is fed to trunk or pipe I and passes to a revolving cage or condenser 2 to the interior of which a fan 3 is coupled.

The material is removed from the cage 2 by a revolving ribbed stripper 4 and passes along the pipe e to the slot b in the roughened trough b. The delivery arrangement is similar, the opened fibrous material passing along the trunk or pipe 5 to a cage or condenser 6 with coupled fan I, a ribbed stripper 8 discharging the open fibrous material. The means for feeding the fibrous material to the cleaning and opening apparatus and for delivering same can be greatly v varied.

The encircling screens of the open-work cage g for the revolving beater d are in any case of such a construction that they tend to resist the passing through of valuable opened fibre, and the grid sections are capable of being readily detached orchanged to suit a change in size or shape of gap or aperture in the grid elements":

appropriate to the particular class of material,

but the character and arrangement of grid structure shown is appropriate for dealing witlrflax straw.

We claim: i

1. Apparatus for the purposes stated, comprising a casing, pervious panels to said casing permitting said casing to breathe, a compartment in said casing for deposit of shive, a roughened trough in said casing, means to'conduct the fibrous material to said trough, an inlet to said trough for fibrous material and air, an

impeller in said trough, a conical cage above said trough comprising frames with panels of inclined bars, and frames with panels of woven wire, a revolving conical beater operating in said conical cage, said beater having strikers and opcrating to assist discharge of the opened-mate the opened material is projected by said inward breathing action, and a deposit chamber enclosed by the pervious casing.

3. Apparatus for cleaning and opening flax straw or such like, comprising a pervious casing, a roughened trough at the base of said casing, an impeller element in the trough to draw in and act on the flax straw or the like, an open-work cage above said trough, an independent revolving beater superposed above the impeller, said impeller operating to discharge air outwards through the lower part of said open-work cage to carry out the "shive, said independent revolving beater inducing air into the upper part of the open-work cage and an outlet from the cage into which the air induced by said beater carries the opened material.

4. Apparatus for the purposes stated comprising a pervious casing, a trough in said casing, an inlet to the trough, an impeller working in the trough, an open-work cage above the trough, an independent revolving beater disposed above the impeller, strikers on said beater, the impeller discharging air by centrifugal action to carry the shive through the lower part of the openwork cage, and the revolving beater inducing air inwardly into the upper part of the open-work cage, said inwardly induced air acting to remove the cleaned and opened material.

5. Apparatus for the purposes stated including a casing, a shive receiving compartment in the casing, pervious panels therefor, a roughened trough in the base of the casing, a feed inlet for the fibrous material, an impeller rotatable in said trough and operating to induce the fibrous material, an open-work cage above said trough, an independent revolving beater operating in said open-work cage, a series of strikers on said beater, an outlet from the open-work cage, said independent revolving beater inducing a current of air through the upper part of the open-work cage to carry the cleaned and opened material to an outlet.

6. Apparatus for the purposes stated comprising a pervious casing, a roughened trough in the base of said casing, means to convey fibrous ma terial to the trough, an impeller working in said trough, a conical cage above said trough, comprising removable open-work frames, an independent revolvable conical beater operating in said conical cage, strikers on said beater, said impeller discharging the shive outwardly into the pervious casing, and the revolving conical beater inducing air into the upper part of the conical cage to discharge the opened material to an outlet and combined means for delivering the opened material.

'7. Apparatus for the purposes stated, comprising a casing, pervious panels to said casing, means to removably fix said panels,,mechanica1 means to feed material to the apparatus, a roughened trough at the base of said casing, an inlet to the trough, an impeller working in said trough, a conical cage located above said roughened trough, open-work panels constituting the annular wall of said cage, an independent revolving conical beater in said cage, strikers on said beater, said impeller discharging the shive out- Warclly through the lower part of the cage, and said beater inducing air inwardly through the cage to convey the opened material out of the apparatus, and means to deliver the opened material.

HENRY WILKINSON. NORMAN PILKINGTON. 

